Fukuoka city is located in Hakata Bay and has many different islands to explore. On the weekend we went to Nokonoshima island, a ten minute ferry ride from the mainland. A small island, it’s most famous for a flower park and the view of Fukuoka city.

We ate a decicious burger, had a wonderful strawberry shake and then rented bikes to go to the park. The park is on the top of island’s hill, and so we got super cool racing bikes. Well… some of us did.

I got this bike.

The park was beautiful. Full of nice flowers and playground equipment. Also, for some strange reason, goats and bunny rabbits!

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We had a long weekend here this week, Monday being the official start of spring! To celebrate the season and the day off work, we headed to Yakushima, an island off the south coast of Kyushu known for it’s natural beauty. As we have been distracted the last few weeks, I did relatively little research before arriving, and Yakushima took my breath away.

The entire island is mountains and forests, with just one small road running around the perimeter. Monkeys and Deer can be found sitting on the side of the road, mangrove forests surround the road, and there are hundreds of waterfalls. It was absolutely gorgeous.

We lucked out and got a car rental tip from someone at our hostel in Kagoshima and scored a car for two days for about $100. The people in Japan are so incredibly nice and trusting. Insurance was included and they didn’t take any credit card information. That afternoon we drove around the island, making stops to see the Pillow shaped lava fields,